Wids disappointed as Burnley withdraw
WIDNES RUFC were disappointed to hear the news that newcomers Burnley have withdrawn from the ADM Premier League.
The Wids were due to play Burnley in the opening fixture on 4th September, but this game was then postponed at short notice.
The Heath Road outfit then tried to re-arrange the game for last weekend, only to be met with the news that the Lancashire outfit had formally requested to leave the competition.
Burnley chairman Paddy Murphy stated that due a loss of players of 1st XV level because of retirements, the pandemic, and more recently players leaving for other clubs which has left them with a threadbare squad unsuitable for this level of competition. Instead, Burnley will drop down into the ‘third division’ and take over the fixtures vacated by Manchester based Broughton who also left the competition for similar reasons.
The League Committee moved quickly to announce that all remaining fixtures involving Burnley in the Premier League will be classed as a ‘walkover’. Whilst not ideal, this will give the other teams a further two additional free weekends, which may indeed turn out to be useful particularly if this winter turns out to be a bad one.
● In the only scheduled game last weekend, Widnes Third team took on Ormskirk at Heath Road but lost by 35-20.
Two successful penalty kicks from Chris Morgan got the home side close, before Ormskirk’s extra pace and strength took the game away from the hosts in the last 20 minutes.
● Playing their first home game for a year and a half, the Wids celebrated a return to Heath Road by proudly wearing a new team kit sponsored by long-term
Heineken.
The impressive new look helped inspire the team to a 36-7 victory, a result that lifted them into eighth place in the ADM Premier League with a game in hand on each of the teams above them.
● The new kit will be on show again this coming Saturday when the red-and-blacks’ make the trip to the Fylde Coast to take on Fleetwood at Melbourne Avenue.
In their opening three games this season; Fleetwood supporters
have won one and lost two.
They were narrowly beaten away at Oldham on the opening day, before comfortably beating Ormskirk by 42-8. In round three they travelled to Red Rocks but lost 34-19 to West Park.
This will be the redand-blacks first visit to the seaside since the Lancastrians joined the newly formed Lancashire Leagues.
The Heath Road boys hosted Fleetwood in round one of the competition in 2019-20 and comfortably came out on top scoring a half century of points in the process. The return game, however, was then later called off when the remainder of the season was cancelled because of the pandemic.
Generally, though, Fleetwood are a tough side to beat on their own pitch, and Widnes can expect an almighty challenge as they look to build on the win over Eccles a fortnight ago.
The game kicks off at 2.15pm.